A Clash of Realms
by GhazzgullThraka
Summary: After the climatic battles of Nagashizzar and Cartenau, the worlds collude and merge together. New alliances are born as the rules of the game, for all players, have changed radically (AOS).


Chapter 1. Spellhunters.

Five years into the seventh umbral era.

Ruprecht and Doyle sprinted across the thick canopy of stranglevines. The bloody plants whipped and snapped, seeking an opening in their targets. Unfortunately both adventurers were allergic to death, so that wouldn't fly.

Leaping and sprinting like madmen, the duo tailed Einhard through the gauntlet of killer plants. One of the vines snapped at Rupretch's arm, blowing away a bit of plate and cutting the red and blue fabric of his puffy sleeves, eliciting a curse from the gruff man.

For over four minutes they kept running for their dear lives, only stopping once they reached a patchwork of ruins almost drowned in the burgeoning vegetation. These couldn't be that old, given how virulent vegetation got in Ghyran, the Realm of life. Ruprecht turned southward. In theory the grand metropolis of Hanmerhal should still be visible, but the trees were so dense that one couldn't see it. The Mortal Realms grew more bizarre the farther you went of civilization, but Ghyran's own brand particularly annoyed Ruprecht.

"Every day's almost like a whole season here, for the bloody plants," grumbled Ruprecht as he took off his brimmed had to rub off the patina of sweat that bathed his auburn hairline.

Ruprecht was a stout and bulky, some dared say chunky, man. Armed with a greatsword, the blade hung on his back, clunking from time to time with his breastplate's back. He sniffed, his broken nose shifting a bit and his mustache tickling as he stared at his companion.

Doyle was a sallow fellow, a native azyrite, from the looks of his incredibly fair skin and meticulous grooming. The sons of the Celestial City were incredibly uptight on that matter. The once immaculate white and blue uniform, made out of quite fine fabrics, was also a dead give away, but the jungle made sure to tear apart that one. Doyle's blue eyes flickered to the Gurdishman adventurer, and Ruprecht stopped the whole staring affair.

"Do you think we are far from the mark," asked Doyle in a ragged voice as he inspected his now damaged clothes.

"I hope so," grumbled Rupretch. He paused for a second before making a second remark. "We are charging twice if not."

Doyle made a razor thin smile. Which quickly vanished as they both heard the incoming screed.

"C'mon here guys!" Bellowed a maddened voice between cackles. "I FOUND IT!"

Ruprecht grunted as Einhard popped up, chanting non-stop about how 'he found it'. The hedge mage, had been kicked from all wizardly institutions for a reason. Just by looking at his disheveled and dirty clothing, his goat-like and unkempt beard too, one could hazard a guess. His eyes said it loudly, he was a madman.

One that was pretty damn handy as a guide and seeker of targets from the contracts, mind you.

"Just what it is?"

"It's a realmgate!"

The old coot ran again, as if shot from a cannon. Ruprecht grunted as he hauled Doyle through the shattered stone tiles of the abandoned settlement. Almost around the corner, in the middle of the abandoned plaza stood a realmgate.

Realmgates… those portals to almost everywhere took almost any shape. They were so varied that Ruprechts almost gave a wide berth to those that resembled a proper gate, like the bleached archway in front of them.

"Jump!" cried the maddened warlock as he entered the shimmering portal.

Ruprecht's jaw went slack and he blanched.

"He's going to kill us all," deadpanned Doyle.

"He better up his game, then," murmured Ruprecht as he barged in to snag and get back the old coot.

Doyle uttered a cry of complaint but, seeing himself alone, decided to follow Ruprecht.

A flash of blinding light enveloped them, so potent that was almost eyesearing. They had activated the realmgate and would jump on to its linked location. Where was a damn good question, though.

Ruprecht grunted in pain, as he scrambled to touch some sort of support. He found it, something soft, like leather, but before he could secure it, he felt a painful slap on his hand that almost sent him reeling backwards.

"Freeze, intruder!" commanded a feminine voice oozing anger.

Rupretch did not stop at the words, but the feeling of steel almost biting into his flesh, as the sword pointed at his neck. That and the breathtaking beauty of their ambusher, those mesmerizing golden eyes and flowing silky silver hair.

And the white bunny ears cropping out of her head

"What in Sigmar's name!?"

=== 0 ===

Earlier that day. Near the Octant square of the city state of Limsa Lominsa, southern Vylbrand.

Lyna's gaze wandered through the city. Under the shadow of ancient cliffs worn by the relentless onslaught of the Rhotano Sea, Limsa Lominsa stood radiant. Llymlaen, goddess of navigation, had clearly blessed the countless and spread out tiny islands that formed the city through an interwoven network of bridges of iron and wood construction. It was both a bewitching sight both from afar and up close, thought the Viera officer.

Lyna shook her head, her rabbit ears trembling slightly, waking up from her stupor and focusing on the order given by admiral Bloefyshwyn.

"By the twelve, I've not slept well today," cursed the captain as she pinched the bridge of her nose, pincering the coppery skin with her gloved hands.

Neither last night, nor the last three. She'd spent her nights having ghastly nightmares. Their contents eluded Lyna by and large, but that amethyst skull screaming and lurching at her was something branded unto her psyche. Choosing to drown her issues in workload, she went to business.

"Officer, report!" Commanded the captain to one of her adjutants, Nappi. She didn't wait for an answer and instead marched northwards.

A dozen Lominsan guards followed her and the elezen Mappi as he did a briefing of the situation.

"There's been sightings of a black trail that's left out… quite a few corpses, I guess we could be that generous."

"Are you implying they were butchered?" Curtly inquired the captain.

Nappi nodded no, his bald head shimmering a bit in the dawn's light as he did so.

"Desiccated, some reduced to dust."

That almost gave pause to the guard captain. She was about to further ask, but the look of her adjutant told her she'd get a far better picture by seeing rather than hearing the words of someone that had only a vague understanding of such a bizarre affair.

Soon after, they departed the city stated their chocobos striding two abreast. Outside the battlements of Limsa Lominsa, La Noscea's plains spread out up to the horizon and the volcano that split Vylbrand in two regions. There, at the lower areas of that mountain they'd find their trail.

After the better part of the morning riding they reached their destination. Lyna grunted. She was nowhere close to a good rider, her skills being on par with potato sacks, and her legs ached a bit more than usual.

They were close to a small forest that nested on the foot of the mountain to the east of their position was a trail that crawled up the slopes of the volcano. One could make the shapes of ancient ruins amidst the dense foliage.

Lyna quickly noticed the details. At the right edge of the forest was a section of trees that had been reduced to desolate carcasses. From there the otherwise verdant grass had been reduced to a shrivelled gray carpet, filled with near mummified bodies. The captain got close and saw a victim. By the size of the corpse, she had to be a miqo'te child, but she looked like a wizened hag reduced to a husk.

Lyna got close and her breath made the corpse crack down into dust. The Viera winced horrified.

"What in the twelve's name!"

She stood there, slack jawed at the implications of this. Nappi cut that fool's errand short.

"Madam look at the forest!"

She turned and saw a spire of light surging amidst the trees. She quickly connected the dots and knew that light had some relationship with the reported event.

Lyna sprinted alongside her fellow troopers. Their blades hissed as they were unsheathed. Lyna held from following suit, least they could be provoking something they couldn't deal with.

From the clearing of the forest stood ruins the likes of which she had never seen, their style utterly alien to the Viera. She felt her skin goosebump as she saw the source of the light.

An archway thrice her size, decorated with a near saturating array of icons depicting apocalyptic battles, that shimmered ominously. Lyna's eyes widened as she gulped down.

"Stay put,

"I am the captain, I give the orders," shot down Lyna. She then added, in a tenuous attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere"And I am not in the mood to deliver bleak news to any would-be widows or orphans, I just have a pestering kitty."

The guards obeyed and she slowly advanced to the strange archway. She wanted to check the think up c-

All of a sudden she was enveloped in a blinding flash of light, she saw nor heard nothing a wall of white and a deafening buzz.

Something touched her. A grasping talon.

The gracing touch sent her ballistic. By instinct she slapped the groping hand. Adrenaline from the surprise shifted into annoyance, which in turn lead to anger at the moment of lowered guard. She acted in reflex, drawing her side arm blade as a preventive measure

"Freeze intruder!"

=== 0 ===

What was going on?

Ruprecht was quite befuddled. It wasn't just the rabbit lady, but also some cat guy, a very young aelf* and two humanoid looking fellas with blue hued skin and hair.

Doyle did not doubt that much. Swiftly he aimed his double barreled shotgun at Ruprecht's attacker. Cries of alarm ran through their ranks as they readied their weapons.

"Dear ma'am," said the azyrite in a cool tone. "I am positive you'd like to keep your brain case intact as much as my companion would like to not bleed to death, so," he made a nod towards the other guardsmen before adding anything else. "I think we'd all appreciate a minuscule mutual favour."

"Why should I trust you, outlander?" Hissed the bunny girl as she subconsciously shifted her stance a bit, locking on the sallow gunner.

"Why should I trust you from not gutting my friend?" countered Doyle. "By the same token you do not trust me, I too have no reason to take you at face value, but this is certainly not a comfortable posture, aint it?

For a second she weighted in the choices.

"Lower the weapon now," threatened the woman.

"You first," quipped Doyle.

" willI tell my men to drop the weapons down and you will put the weapon away," counter-offered the rabbit gal.

"Deal."

The woman turned and made a gesture to their comrades. Blades and staffs lowered, leaving the duo at a tense impas for a few moments.

Almost like a spasm, the two turned their weapons away. Ruprecht let out a relieved sigh as he rubbed the irritated neck.

The rabbit girl mused for a second before speaking again.

"I am captain Lyna of Limsa Lominsa's guard," introduced the rabbit woman. "State your business, why did you come here."

Ruprecht coughed to clear his throat.

"Name's Ruprecht, and this is my colleague Doyle," said the ghurdishman as his hand pointed at each other. "We are professional spellhunters, ma'am."

"Spellhunters," parroted slowly the captain.

Her voice was much like her expression: a mixture of bafflement, disbelief and a bit of disgust at such a blatant lie.

Doyle was taken aback at such a strange reaction.

He made to further elaborate but Einhard's cry broke his train of thought.

From the trail eastwards ran Einhard like a hound. Sprinting like there was no tomorrow, the mad wizard barely kept distances with his pursuer.

The ground trembled and nearby trees withered a bit and shed dying leaves.

Their target was coming

"Well, there goes charging double," noted Doyle dryly.

=== 0 ===

"Wha- what is that!?" Shouted Nappi.

Following the disheveled vagrant was a massive orb of pure amethyst. From it lashed a hundred ethereal tentacles withering away any trace of life, reducing all things it rolled over into dust.

"Well, thankfully that Sun of Xereus is small," said Ruprecht to Doyle.

"Sun?" Inquired a flabbergasted guard.

"It is a figure of speech, sun of xereus, sun of shyish," explained the man named Doyle as he took off the red cartridges from his shotgun and replaced them with silver ones. "It is just an endless spell, a concentration of Death magic that runs rampant all over the Realms."

Lyna felt no need to argue about what, under normal circumstances, would sound like total horse shit. She focused on a small and unimportant detail.

That was the skull that haunted her nightmares


End file.
